Protesters push reform demands
BANGKOK — Thailand’s government declared a strict new state of emergency for the capital on Thursday, a day after a studentled protest against the country’s traditional establishment saw an extraordinary moment in which demonstrators heckled a royal motorcade.
After the predawn declaration, riot police moved in to clear out demonstrators who after a day of rallies and confrontation had gathered outside Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha’s office to push their demands, which include the former general’s stepping down, constitutional changes and reform of the monarchy.
The text of the emergency declaration said it was needed because “certain groups of perpetrators intended to instigate an untoward incident and movement in the Bangkok area by way of various methods and via different channels, including causing obstruction to the royal motorcade.”
The protest Wednesday in Bangkok’s historic district, not far from glittering temples and royal palaces, was the third major gathering by studentled activists who have been pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable — and legal — language by publicly questioning the role of Thailand’s monarchy in the nation’s power structure.
Thailand’s royal family has long been considered sacrosanct and a pillar of Thai identity. King Maha Vajiralongkorn and other key members of the royal family are protected by a lese majeste law that has regularly been used to silence critics who risk up to 15 years in prison if deemed to have insulted the institution.
The movement’s original core demands were new elections, changes in the constitution to make it more democratic, and an end to intimidation of activists.
The protesters charge that Prayuth, who as army commander led a 2014 coup that toppled an elected government, was returned to power unfairly in last year’s general election because laws had been changed to favor a promilitary party. The protesters say a constitution promulgated under military rule in which campaigning against it was illegal is undemocratic.